


Lost in the Woods

by ShimmeringBubble



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Missions Gone Wrong, One Shot, Stranded, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29593869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShimmeringBubble/pseuds/ShimmeringBubble
Summary: In which Peter B. and Miles go on an impromptu, accidental camping trip.(Basically a mindless, fluffy one-shot, because I love ‘huddling for warmth’ as a trope.)
Relationships: Miles Morales & Peter B. Parker
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Lost in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Title for this fic is from “Lost in the Woods” from Frozen 2.

”This is horrible, and dumb, and really just absolutely stupid. I’m really starting to think Spider-Man’s ideal habitat is NOT outside the city.” Miles flinched as branches slapped against his face, his arms screaming from exertion as he swung.

”Hey, it’s not that bad! Yet.” Peter yelped, swinging narrowly between two trunks to his left. “Besides, just like old times, right?”

”This is part of the ‘old times’ that I did _not_ want to be reminded of!” Miles yelled, lenses widening as his spider-sense flared. He barely dodged a projectile shot from somewhere behind them, the sound of voices yelling echoing off the trees. The fired device deployed a net which unfurled in the spot he had just occupied, electricity buzzing through the fibers as it snagged on a branch.

”Man, they _really_ don’t wanna let us go.” He skirted out of the way as more bullets and projectiles hurtled towards him, vaguely hearing Peter grunt as he did the same.

The thing was, Miles had been sort of excited to go on this mission. His thought process _had_ been that it would be sort of like his very first spider-mission, the Alchemax lab. The location was very similar, the secret base of the bad guys he was tracking being located smack dab in the middle of the woods upstate. 

Before Miles had actually _encountered_ them, he was led to believe that it was a relatively small operation. He had gotten the coordinates during an infiltration mission into a Hammerhead base, the mob clearly having dealings with the weapons supplier listed. The details were vague, but essentially, it was some illegal weapons being shipped from and stored in a little bunker hidden far from prying eyes in the city.

The idea was to take out the goons running it, then send any and all evidence of the operation to the police. The worst part about it was that it would take him an entire day to get to and from upstate, even with a bus ride. So, Miles would have to pull it off during the weekend.

This, of course, led to the idea that he should invite Peter along just for fun. They had both been pretty busy lately, and the chance to experience a mission so similar to the first one they had gone on together ‘for old time’s sake’ seemed perfect.

Except no, it was not perfect, unless you counted the fact that they were also being chased and shot at now, just like the Alchemax trip. They had taken the bus ride, swung through about five miles of dense trees, then arrived at a swarming base full of fully-weaponized guards. There had to be at least 100 of them, all operating out of the well-concealed bunker. 

_”So much for ‘just storage,’”_ Peter had said as they crouched in the trees from a distance.

The _real_ problem arose when they set off some sort of perimeter alarm, which apparently triggered the entire base to start firing those zappy nets at them. It had been impossible to dodge them all, and they had been knocked down, stunned on the forest floor.

The bad guys swarmed them, dragging them inside and destroying Peter’s portal device as soon as they searched them and discovered it. (Luckily, Miles had left his home, so they weren’t completely doomed to being out of contact with the others when they got out of this mess.)

Just when the criminals had been getting ready to get _really_ violent, Miles had ingeniously saved both of their butts with his bioelectricity. He had absorbed the electricity from the nets, letting it build up within him before shocking as many goons as he could. He had gotten a good number of them unconscious before freeing Peter and hightailing it out of there.

Unfortunately for them, they were too busy swinging for their lives to take note of the direction they were headed. Peter had blamed it on still having ‘fried-out brains’ from the earlier electric net encounter.

”I get the feeling we might not be going in the right direction!” His mentor yelled in the present moment, launching off a branch and tearing the sleeve of his suit in the process. The remaining soldiers below were having an easier time shooting at him, given the fact that he was a bright red and blue target.

”No kidding,” Miles panted sarcastically. “Pretty sure we’ve been swinging for more than a few miles. How have we not lost them all yet?”

”Think we might just be slowing down,” Peter groaned. He suddenly let out a yell of pain, and Miles turned mid-swing, alarm flashing through him as he caught sight of something long and sharp sailing away from Peter’s side.

”Oh that’s great!” Peter gasped through clenched teeth. “They’re using harpoons now!” He had faltered in his swinging, falling behind Miles. 

”You ok?” Miles called, slowing down a bit and trying to see Peter’s injury while also keeping track of where he was swinging.

”I’m- fine!” Peter replied, his slightly strained voice indicating otherwise. “Just grazed me, didn’t go through. We need to shake these guys, though. Might wanna do your disappearing act, kiddo.”

”And leave you to get shot at? Nuh-uh,” Miles replied stubbornly. “I’ve got a better idea. Since we’re already basically lost, let’s just change direction a bunch until they lose us. Sound good?”

“Sure, why not,” Peter groaned, forcing himself to keep moving. “We’re already totally screwed no matter what we do here.”

Miles tried not to think about the soft, pained noises his mentor made as they sharply turned, launching in a different direction. They zig-zagged haphazardly through the trees, changing directions as much as possible, hearing the confused shouts of their captors below as they tried to split up to find them. Eventually, the shouts became more and more distant, the non-superpowered soldiers falling behind.

”Let’s stop a minute,” Miles gasped, pausing on a branch and listening intently for sounds of pursuit. He let out a yelp of surprise when Peter smacked into the next branch over, barely sticking to it at the last second and weakly hoisting himself over it.

”Are you ok?” Miles panicked, leaning forward to help his mentor stand on the branch.

”Just peachy,” Peter groaned, laying a hand over the left side of his chest. “Just got a little flesh wound from Captain Ahab back there.” Blood was trickling out between his fingers, shiny against the red and blue of his suit.

”Mierda,” Miles hissed, reaching out to pull Peter’s hand away. “That’s not good.”

”No, not really,” Peter agreed. “Don’t worry, though. I just need to put some webbing on it and it should be fine. Healing factor should get it.”

Miles bit his lip, uncertain of his mentor’s words. On a normal day, their regenerative healing _would_ probably make the injury vanish quickly, but today was far from normal. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere with zero medical supplies, food, or water. They hadn’t eaten or drank anything in hours, and they were both exhausted from the fight and chase. The spider healing factor needed a certain amount of energy for it to really kick in.

Miles wasn’t sure if it would.

”Uh, ok,” Miles said, trying to take charge of the abysmal situation. “I’ll web it up for you so the job’s a bit neater.”

”Alright,” Peter agreed, shifting closer and holding as still as possible. He grit his teeth, preparing for the sting of the web that would seal the wound.

Miles aimed carefully, glancing up through his mask and waiting until Peter nodded in confirmation. He fired a quick stream of web-fluid over the wound, moving swiftly and precisely.

”Nnngh. Good job, kid.” Peter hissed, trying to hide just how much it had hurt. “That should probably keep out any infection. Just need a few hours to let the good old healing factor do its magic.”

”Right,” Miles nodded, trying to pretend like he wasn’t worried at all about being stuck in the middle of the forest with zero methods of communication. “Um. So. Which way should we start going?”

They ended up using the lowering sun as a means of finding direction, stopping often and listening for the sound of their pursuers. Peter was moving slower than usual, his wound putting a dampener on his usual stamina.

”It’s getting dark fast,” Miles observed as they stopped for what felt like the thousandth time. “Think we’re getting pretty close?”

”No,” Peter answered, opting for honesty rather than optimism. “I can’t hear any signs of society or cars. If I had to guess, we’re probably very far out.”

”...Right,” Miles muttered, glancing down at the forest floor below. He looked back at Peter, who was hunched over, head bowed in exhaustion on his branch. “I think we might need to rest for a while. Give your wounds a chance to heal, maybe warm up some.”

Peter hesitated for a moment, then sighed, shoulders slumping. “Alright.”

There were a lot of random boulders and rock formations scattered throughout the woods. They ended up squeezing into what might have passed for a cave, but was more like three boulders leaning together with semi-decent roof.

”Think we can start a fire?” Miles asked, shivering as he peered around the interior of the cave. It was getting a bit later in the spring, but the temperature still dropped quite a bit at night.

”No,” Peter said, lenses drooping as he followed his protégé inside. “Those soldiers might still be out there looking for us, and I’m having trouble telling if we’ve circled back around near their compound. Best to just skip the possibility of them seeing the smoke.”

”How’s your side?” Miles asked softly, illuminating the cramped space with a few sparks from his left hand.

”It’s fine,” Peter murmured, leaning against one of the walls as he sat down fully. “Wouldn’t mind something to eat right now, but I can do without.”

”Really wished they hadn’t crushed your communicator,” Miles groaned, sitting down across from him. “‘Least we didn’t have our phones, though. That would be a pretty definitive way to identify us. Or, you know. Just unmasking us. Guess they were kinda dumb.” He tugged off his mask, leaning his head back against the rough rock.

”What they lacked in intelligence, they made up for in quantity,” Peter sighed. “Any idea what organization they are?”

Miles watched as the older spider’s lenses slid shut. Peter hadn’t taken off his mask yet, a fact which Miles found highly suspicious.

”No. The specs I found didn’t list them under a name. Maybe they’re a subset of Alchemax or something. They seem to like middle-of-nowhere bases.”

”Hmm.” Peter didn’t say anything for a while, his lenses cracking open again after a few minutes. “Hey. You’re shivering.”

”Oh, yeah,” Miles said, glancing down at himself. He had been too distracted to notice the cold seeping into him now that they had stopped moving. “Guess I am.”

Peter shook his head, sighing. “Only you would say that. ‘Hey, lookie here, I might just be _freezing_ right now!’”

”I didn’t say that!” Miles insisted, crossing his arms in a futile effort to warm up. “And besides, you’re always the first one to try and hide something like that.”

”Whatever,” Peter replied childishly. “C’mere. I’m getting cold, too.”

Miles squeezed in next to him, pressing close when he realized just how _warm_ his mentor was. “Dang, all that extra insulation is doing you some favors,” he couldn’t help but joke.

”Shut up,” Peter mumbled affectionately. “I don’t hear you complaining.”

”I’m not,” Miles mumbled tiredly. He hesitated, tugging at the edge of Peter’s mask to lay a hand on his skin. “Hey, you’re not, like, running a fever, right?”

Peter swatted away his hand, but finally took off his mask. ”Nah. Haven’t you noticed we run a bit warmer than the average human? Think it has something to do with the metabolism.”

”Doesn’t feel like I do,” Miles complained. “I’m still cold right now.”

”That’s ‘cause you’re still a munchkin. You’ll grow.”

”Rude.”

”Hey, you’re the one who started this conversation by making comments about my weight.”

”Not bad comments!”

”Hmm, I disagree, but I’m too tired to argue,” Peter sighed. Miles couldn’t help but silently agree. It had been a pretty horrible day. He just hoped Ganke would cover for him accordingly when his parents inevitably called to ask where he was.

”Scoot in closer,” Peter complained, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Just ‘cause you’re not a furnace doesn’t mean you can withhold all that free body heat.”

Miles smiled a little, tucking closer into his mentor’s side. They were both cold, and miserable, and hungry, but at least they had each other during this less than ideal experience.

”We’ll keep moving when we wake up,” Peter mumbled softly, allowing his head to tilt to the side and rest gently on Miles’. “Can’t be too much further.”

”Yeah..” Miles hadn’t realized just how tired he was until he had closed his eyes. He soon released his grip on consciousness, nuzzling into Peter’s arms and falling asleep.

———

Miles woke to a stiff neck and a soft groan from directly above him.

They had shifted a lot in the night, laying down fully on the floor and doing what seemed to be their best imitation of a pretzel. Miles had his face pressed into his mentor’s collarbone, his head tucked under Peter’s chin. They both had their arms around each other, unconsciously snuggling as close together as possible to preserve what little warmth they had left. Normally, Miles might have snorted in amusement at their impromptu cuddle session, but right now, he had bigger concerns.

Peter was still asleep, but his brow was furrowed, face pulled into a grimace. Miles cringed as he reached over, tentatively checking on the webbing covering his mentor’s wound. It had still held, but they needed to properly treat it soon.

Just as Miles had suspected, Peter’s healing factor had not fully fixed the problem. It might have done something while they were sleeping, but from what he could tell, the majority of the damage was still intact.

The biggest problem at the moment, however, was just how cold they both were. It wasn’t cold enough for snow, but that didn’t mean that being in the chill all night had done them any favors.

Miles cursed, noticing that Peter was shivering slightly. He wasn’t doing so great himself, but at least he wasn’t harboring an injury.

There was no way around it. He was going to have to light a fire, even if it left them more exposed.

Peter groaned again when Miles began to extract himself from his grip, trying to tighten his arms and hold him closer. “I’ll be right back,” Miles tried to reassure, laying a gentle hand on his arm as he finally squeezed out and slipped out of the cave.

Miles felt the cold air of the outside hit him in full blast as he came out through the low-hanging entrance. He grit his teeth, shivering as he forced himself to focus. His eyes honed in on the trees above, knowing they held the fuel for warmth.

He found a few substantial pieces of timber on the floor, climbing up and breaking off a few scraggly branches when there wasn’t quite enough.

He pulled on his mask to protect against the cold, pulling up the lower half to try and will some heat into his hands with his breath.

Miles had learned how to build a fire from almost nothing when he was 10. He and his dad had decided to go camping, but had forgotten to bring matches. Luckily for him, his dad always just seemed to know all the tricks of the trade. He had made sure Miles understood the importance of learning survival skills that could one day save his life.

Miles sent a silent thanks to his father as he laid a few pieces of timber away from any other flammable plants, arranging them into a hasty stack. He made a determined face as he grabbed a narrow, pointy stick and began to create friction against one of the thicker pieces of wood. His hands were a little numb and cold, so it took more tries than he would have liked, but eventually, he saw the beginnings of smoke billowing from the wood.

The young spider grinned triumphantly, carefully blowing on it to fuel the flames. Once the fire reached a substantial size, he forced himself to move away from the warmth, creeping back into the cave. Peter was still unconscious. His mentor had curled into a ball, eyes squeezed shut.

”Peter?” Miles asked, shaking his shoulder. Peter didn’t reply, and Miles felt his heart quicken. “Peter. Wake up.” He shook him harder, this time hearing a soft moan but no further response.

”Hoo boy. Ok, sorry for this in advance,” Miles sighed, sparks dancing at the tips of his fingers. He poked the older spider’s shoulder once more, this time with a little bit of venom. Peter gasped, eyes flying open and staring blearily around him.

”Wha’ happened?” He ran a disgruntled hand through his hair.

”We’re still in the woods,” Miles reminded him grimly, offering a hand to pull him up.

Peter accepted it, but blanched as soon as he moved. “Crap.” He gasped, a hand flying to his webbed-up wound. Miles bit his lip in concern, eyeing the injury.

”Come on,” He said gently, wrapping his fingers around Peter’s wrist. “I built a fire outside. We can warm up some then finally get out of here.”

”Right,” Peter creaked out, allowing Miles to lead him outside. He unceremoniously collapsed next to their tiny fire, exhaustion evident in his movements. “Hey, aren’t we supposed to be avoiding someone? They’ll see the smoke.”

”It’s a chance we’re gonna have to take,” Miles replied grimly, adding more timber to the pathetic little campfire. “Whoa, what are you doing?” He asked as Peter practically fell onto his side, curling up into a ball before the flames.

”Resting a little more.” Peter’s eyes slid shut. “I’ll be up in a minute, bud.”

”No no,” Miles said, poking him sharply. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Here, let me see that wound.” Peter swatted his hand away before he could touch it.

”Why? It’s not like we have medical stuff out here, anyway. I’m fine, really. Just need to lay down another minute.”

“Maybe it needs fresh webs?”

”Nuh-uh. ‘m fine...”

Miles felt his fear and unease growing. Peter did _not_ look like he should be swinging back through miles and miles of woodland, never mind while being chased by tech-wielding soldiers.

Now he was falling unconscious again, and it seemed like the probability of him getting back up was low. How would they ever get out of this-

There was a soft snapping sound close by in the forest.

Miles leapt to his feet, his instinctual response to the threat being to turn invisible. However, he forced away the urge, reminding himself of his very vulnerable companion.

The sound had come from the trees. Maybe it was a bird. Maybe it was a small branch snapping. Maybe it was a gang of criminals with spider-squashing weapons coming right for them.

Miles was torn between staying there and directly protecting Peter, or going to investigate the sound and potentially leaving the other spider exposed.

Before he could decide, however, someone appeared out of the trees.

”Anyone else getting Deja Vu here? Think I might have found you guys like this before.” The white-clad figure asked as she nimbly landed on the forest floor.

” _Gwen_!” Miles breathed in relief, feeling the familiar hum in the back of his head as he recognized his friend. “Gracias a Dios. Peter really needs help.”

“What happened?” Gwen asked as they knelt next to the older spider.

”We were out here hunting down these weapons dealers, and then they caught us, and then they gave him a nasty scrape with some kind of projectile,” Miles panted, watching as Gwen first opened a portal with her device and then went to lift Peter.

”...Right. Sounds interesting. You guys might wanted to have _told_ us you were doing this, though!” Gwen complained as she grabbed Peter’s feet and Miles grabbed his shoulders.

”Uh...yeah. Sorry.” Miles said sheepishly. “How’d you find us, anyway?”

”Peni looked up the last known location for Peter’s portal device. You guys both just went completely off the grid yesterday afternoon, so we started to figure something was up. We’ve all been out here looking for you for hours.” She paused, adding, “Speaking of which, I need to tell everyone that I found you.”

”Do they know there’s a bunch of crazy bad guys out there with guns?” Miles asked concernedly.

”We haven’t seen any sign of them. I suspect they might have packed up and left after you guys blew their cover.”

Miles held back a groan. Great. All of this, just to scare off the possibility of ever fulfilling the purpose they were out here for in the first place.

They carried Peter through the portal, Gwen’s selected destination the older spider’s apartment. Miles sucked in a breath of shock and relief as the hot air hit him, warming him almost immediately. The two tried not to jostle Peter too much as they laid him down on his bed.

”I’ll message the others,” Gwen said, glancing up at Miles. “You good to grab his med kit? I’m happy to patch him up. You look like you could use some rest, too.”

”Yeah. Thanks,” Miles agreed tiredly, stumbling into Peter’s bathroom and digging his overstuffed medical kit out of the cabinet. He set it down next to his mentor, Gwen setting to work on cutting away the fabric around the wound and properly tending to it.

”Good job on the webbing,” She said offhandedly. “I don’t think it’s infected.”

Miles nodded in relief. He eventually settled in, basking in the sharp upward change in temperature and the knowledge that Peter was safe.

—

Afterwards, the other spiders made sure that Peter and Miles both had something hot to eat and drink, a fact that they were both very grateful for. It seemed as if they would be fine, save for Peter’s now-mending wound and a slight cold that Miles could feel coming on.

As soon as he was feeling better, Peter lightly grabbed Miles’ wrist, huddling closer under the blanket the others had bundled over them and mumbling, “Sorry, bud, but we are _never_ going into the woods again.”

Miles nodded, pursing his lips in thought as he leaned into his mentor. “Agreed.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not sure if the geography that’s barely described in this is accurate. Are there actually miles of uninhabited woods in upstate NY? Idk.
> 
> Was this story basically mindless fluff? Yep. Did I just really want to write a fic with one of my favorite tropes? Absolutely. So I did, and here we are :D
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
